July 12, 2013

Summer is well underway, and that means only one thing – start planning your timeshare vacation.

And along with hot dogs and cotton candy finding the top rated roller coasters might just be on your to-do list this summer.

ASTM International, a private standards-setting organization based in Pennsylvania, has published standards that spell out the maximum thrust, acceleration and drops for theme park rides.

But the standards are not mandatory in every state. And even if they abide by the limits, ride designers say they can still come up with attractions that push the boundaries in new ways.

We’ll look at 5 of the top rated roller coasters based on the ASTM standards in a 2-Part series.

1. Tallest roller coaster: Kingda Ka. At Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ, Kingda Ka is a record setter, peaking at 456 feet, making it the tallest roller coaster in the world.

This steel accelerator roller coaster is launched by hydraulics to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds. At the end of the launch track it climbs the 456-foot height, and runs over a 3,118-foot-long track for the duration of the ride.

2. Fastest wooden roller coaster: El Toro. Another of Six Flags Great Adventure’s roller coasters in Jackson, NJ, this is also a record-setter. El Toro isn’t the tallest wooden coaster, but it beats all other wooden roller coasters for speed.

The ride reaches speeds of 70 mph, faster than all other wooden roller coasters in the world. El Toro is also the first wooden roller coaster to use a cable lift as opposed to the traditional chain lift.

The park complex of Six Flags Great Adventure & Safari in Jackson, NJ, contains eleven themed areas, four of which are designed for small children.

Including the animal safari, and Hurricane Harbor water park, this Six Flags theme park covers the most land of all Six Flags properties. Jackson, NJ, is just over an hour’s drive from New York City.

Check out New York City timeshare rentals for a comfortable and budget-friendly place to stay as you enjoy Kingda Ka, El Toro, and the rest of Six Flags Great Adventure.

3. Most upside-down turns: The Colossus. Not to be confused with the Colossus at California’s Magic Mountain, England’s Thorpe Park, in Surrey, is home to this Colossus, which turns riders upside down 10 times during each 2,789-foot run.

The ride is tied in this category with the inversion roller coaster in Chimelong Paradise in Guangdong, China.

Thorpe Park was built on a gravel pit that had been created by a concrete company after the original Thorpe Park Estate was demolished. The first attraction, in 1979, was a water park built by flooding the gravel pit.

Collossus was the park’s first big roller coaster, built in 2002.

Thorpe Park is divided into several areas, including: Canada Creek which has a wild water river ride in a wooded area, called Loggers Leap.

Amity Cove is themed as a New England fishing Village in the 1960s that has been left devastated by a storm. The main attractions in this area include two big water rides, Tidal Wave and Storm Surge.

Lost City is where you’ll find Colossus, along with other rides such as Samurai and Zodiac.

Surrey is actually a suburb of London and it will take you only about half an hour by train to get from downtown London to Thorpe Park.

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